Pyramid back on
course after six months
of financial reorganization

May 24, 2001
Seeley Swan Pathfinder
Seeley Lake, Montana

Looking Forward! With months
of tedious negotiations behind them, Pyramid owners are looking
to the future after concluding a financial and ownership reorganization
in the past two weeks. Joining the Johnson families in Pyramid
ownership is Charlee Parke (center left) who purchased the stock
of the Alfred and Doug Mood families. At right is Roger Johnson,
Pyramid president, and his sons, Todd (far left) and Steve (center
right) who retain Pyramid stock.

___________________________

Pyramid Mountain Lumber is currently accepting applications
for general labor positions. Pick up application at main office.
677-2201. EEO Employer.

___________________________

by Gary Noland

Last November it appeared there would never be any more ads
like the one above which has run in the last two issues of the
Pathfinder.

The ad is reassuring to Seeley Lake businesses, school officials
and just about everyone else in this small, mountain community
which last November faced the prospect of losing its main employer
when the saw mill fell on rough times.

But instead of an auction planned by the mill owners when they
announced a permanent shutdown last Novemberwe now have help wanted
ads, equipment on order, a new major stockholder, and a relieved
community which had earlier contemplated the loss of over 100
jobs and an exodus of families and school-age children.

Saving Pyramid became the focus of efforts by Missoula County
Commissioners who enlisted the support of the Missoula Area Economic
Development Corporation and its executive director Dick King.

King put together a financial plana $7 million plus packagethat
involved Community Development Block Grant money, federally guaranteed
bank loans, and a re-structuring of existing Pyramid debt.

All these pieces had to fall together in time for Pyramid to
make a decision whether to continue operations or hold an auction
as planned earlier for this spring. The process prevailed over
almost six months, reaching a final, positive conclusion just
under two weeks ago when a stock sale was finalized.

Doug Mood, whose father co-founded Pyramid just over 50 years
ago, announced in early March that he and his brother Alfred,
both active in mill management for many years, had agreed to sell
their stock in Pyramid to Charlie Parke of Parke Logging in Drummond.
The sale, however, was contingent upon the financial re-organizational
plan meeting with approval from all the parties involved.

One by one the pieces fell together when Missoula County Commissioners
approved a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant which was
then approved at the state level by the Montana Department of
Commerce. Missoula Area Economic Development corporation approved
a $332,000 loan. Two Rivers Bank of Bonner approved a $4.6 million
loan which was finally approved the by U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Rural Development program which guarantees 80 percent of that
loan.

And, when all that was done, the Moods and Charlie Parke concluded
a stock sale on May 10 that ended 51 years of Mood family ownership.

Stock in Pyramid is held by Roger Johnson, president, whose
father co-founded the mill, his sons, Steve and Todd who have
been active in sales and personnel management for several years,
and now Charlie Parke.

Parke, who attended his first board meeting last Wednesday,
has been a farmer, rancher and businessman in the Drummond area.
"I got into logging many years ago in order to keep the farm
going. Now I'm getting into a mill operation to keep my logging
business going. I don't know what I'm going to do when I grow
up," he laughed.

Pyramid has on order $2 million in equipment that will help
the mill compete in today's market.